Executive Opinions

Video: H.E. Mohammed Omar Abdulla, Undersecretary, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, talks to Phil Blizzard at the 7th MEED Abu Dhabi Conference about their economic performance, SMEs, DFI and the new Industrial Development Bureau, along with emerging investment opportunities.

Video: MasterCard Worldwide have a number of payment solutions directed specifically at the SME sector, aimed at assisting the development of small businesses. Phil Blizzard talks to Brian Lang, Senior VP, MEA, MasterCard Worldwide about the various payment solution products and how they assist SMEs. He also talks about their involvement in the debut Gulf Capital SMEinfo Awards 2012 to be held in Dubai.

Video: Paul Trowbridge, CEO, United Arab Bank, talks Edward Poultney through how he views the current economic climate in the UAE and looks over the bank's H1 results - including how the shareholder partnership with Commercial Bank of Qatar has helped push the group's expansion into the retail banking space, supported by the launch of a new client reward scheme.

Video: Dr Mohammed Al Zarooni, CEO, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority talks to Phil Blizzard about the regions 'Silicon Valley' development which is now 5 years old and also about the UAE's first IT specific education and development institute which has just opened at this technology focussed free zone.

Video: H.E. Maitha Al Mahrouqi, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Oman talks to Phil Blizzard about the impact of Muscat being the Arab Tourism Capital during 2012 and the significant increase in visitor arrivals during Q1. She also talks about their strategy for tourism development in Oman, as well as the cool summer season in Salalah with the annual Khareef Festival, held during the monsoon season.

The northern emirate of Ras al Khaimah has ambitious plans for it's tourism sector, aiming to be an affordable luxury destination. John Brayford, Acting CEO, Rak Airways talks to Phil Blizzard about their development plans which will see the airline evolving to match the tourism sector. He talks about the need for stability in the market for small airlines to grow and describes the positioning of the airline, as being Emirates Lite.

Video: The construction of a new expressway into Turkey will change the 'shape of international trading' says H.E. Mohammed Al Derajy, Minister of Housing & Construction, Iraq in this interview with Phil Blizzard at MEED's Arabian World Construction Summit, Abu Dhabi. The ministers gives an overview of the project requirements which will include the construction of more than 2.5 million housing units, 7000km of local roads, 900km of expressways and 70 bridges. He also reveals his 'golden triangle' - their requirements when dealing with investors, contractors and developers.

With the backdrop of the Fairmont Palm Jumeirah hotel, which is set to open in Q3 2012, Phil Blizzard talks to Tala Jassim Al Bahar, CEO & Chairman, IFA Hotel and Resorts about the hotel and the associated development on Dubai's iconic man-made island. With projects stretching from the USA to Europe, the Middle East and across to Asia, as well as South Africa we have an overview of the development strategy of IFA.

Video: Gerald Lawless talks to Phil Blizzard at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC), on the positive start to 2012 for the group and provides an overview of their regional development plans. He also gives his views on 'Adapting to a Changing Landscape' which is the main theme of the conference.

The small Kingdom of Bahrain has two airlines which are competing with each other and as Richard Nuttal, CEO, Bahrain Air tells Phil Blizzard "that competition is no longer healthy and a solution is now needed". He explains how Bahrain Air has evolved from being a low cost carrier to a 'premium value carrier', how IATA membership is essential to their growth and provides an overview of their development plans.

Abu Dubai's gigantic Khalifa Port is set for opening in Q4 2012 and ahead of that Phil Blizzard speaks with Tony Douglas, CEO, Abu Dhabi Ports Authority. He says that the port will have a the world's largest 'ship to shore' cranes to handle containers in a fully automated system and talks of the importance of being integrated into the Etihad Rail network. Khalifa Port is the first phase of the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) which will be two thirds the size of Singapore. The interview features some stunning fly-by video clips of the port development.

The impact of ITC trends on enterprises and the challenges faced by CIOs on the large volumes of Big Data being generated are addressed by Jose Duarte, President - Global Services, SAP AG. Talking to Phil Blizzard he also talks about the evolution of SAP AG and their increasing visibility through sports sponsorship.

IDC produced their first report on technology trends in 1964 and since then have grown to become a global organisation with more than 1000 analysts in over 50 countries. Phil Blizzard talks to Kirk Campbell, President & CEO, IDC about their development, the evolution of the ITC industry and his views on key trends which embrace cloud computing, mobile computing, big data & analytics and social media.

Masdar Power are developers, owners and operators in sustainable energy using solar and wind sources. Frank Wouters, Director, Masdar Power talks to Phil Blizzard about their projects in Europe and the Middle East, new markets in Japan, Korea and China, along with their role in the Abu Dhabi 2030 Masterplan.

The 20th Public Relations World Congress is to be held in Dubai with the theme of 'From the Arab Street to Wall Street: Communications in an Age of Dialogue'. Phil Blizzard talks to Sunil John, CEO, Asda'a Burson-Marsteller, Dubai and chairman of the organising committee on what this platform will offer PR professionals from across the globe. He also talks about the evolution of PR in the Middle East and how PR is likely to progress.